Seat suspension systems for isolating a rider from vibration are known. For example, riding lawn mowers may include a seat having a transverse hinged support that permits the seat to pivot about a forwardly positioned transverse axis. The back of the seat may then rest against the mower frame on springs or the like. Such a configuration may assist in attenuating and/or damping vertical oscillations that could otherwise propagate through the mower chassis to the seat.
While such a construction may be advantageous in isolating the seat from chassis vibrations generally in the vertical direction, it typically does not provide the seat with additional degrees of freedom, e.g., horizontal fore-and-aft/side-to-side translation. As mowers and other utility vehicles often operate on undulating terrain, isolation of horizontal oscillations may assist with, for example, improving operator comfort.
While vehicle seats have been developed with various mechanisms for providing such additional degrees of freedom, many implementations suffer from high cost, a large space requirement, and/or increased complexity. For example, some seat suspension mechanisms designed typically for enclosed cab operation may have components in sliding/rolling contact with one another to provide some degree of horizontal seat movement. However, such systems may be ill-suited for use in exposed, dusty environments such as may exist during mowing. For instance, as one can appreciate, dirt deposits between mating surfaces of constantly sliding/rolling parts may result in unintended wear and/or friction problems, particularly after extended periods of operation.
As a result of these drawbacks, many conventional mower seat suspension systems focus on dissipation or attenuation of low frequency oscillations primarily in the vertical direction. While effective, such systems do not address oscillations in other, e.g., horizontal, directions that may result from normal mower operation.